Michael Bradley Under the Microscope

We've spent some time here at CdT comparing various players, most notably Destro v PDO and our Great Goalkeeper Debate, while not a direct comparison of two players, next up we're going to examine Michael Bradley: the good, the bad, and the ugly, the latter of which mostly pertains to hairstyle, or the lack thereof.

Again, much like our prior pieces in this series, a few caveats:

1. As both a Roma and U.S. Soccer fan, I obviously like Bradley and think he brings a lot to the table for club and country.

2. Because of that, I have become the defacto Bradley defender among the CdT crew

3. This is merely a look at a somewhat controversial player, not a comparison to anyone else on the squad. This debate is all Bradley.

This analysis will employ the tried and true Stewie Griffin method, the compliment sandwich. We'll take a look at what he does well, where he falters, and what we can/should expect from him going forward.

Before we put Bradley in the crosshairs, let's look at how and why this debate came into existence.

For more on what Bradley's presence in Rome means for the club, project and U.S. Soccer, feel free to (re)read my opus from this past July. We'll keep this piece purely focused on the pitch, but the extension of the Roma brand in America is only in its infancy, so don't be surprised if they exploit Bradley to that end even further going forward.

Okay, now that is out of the way, what's all the fuss about?

I don't think many fans, even those who don't claim to be Bradley supporters, would say he's a bad player; the issue is simply the extent and manner in which he's featured in Zeman's plans this season. Quite frankly, had you told me back in July that Bradley would be a week-in-week-out 90 minute player, I would've been pleasantly surprised, albeit shocked. While he was never brought here to ride the pine, he had the makings of a 30-40 minute player, at least in the early goings. But he clearly has Zeman's faith, so he must be doing something right.

So, with that in mind, let's take a bite out of this compliment sandwich.

What has he done well?

The good folks at who scored have Bradley ranked as Roma's 8^th most effective player, ahead of Alessandro Florenzi, Federico Balzaretti and Daniele De Rossi, among those who have logged significant minutes.

Looking at the other numbers, Bradley's raw passing numbers have been particularly strong. The Bald Beauty is completing 87% of his passes, good for 4^th on the team (minimum 13 appearances), averaging nearly 48 passes per game and 16 meters per pass. Bradley has notched 11 key passes, 90% of which have come (surprisingly) in the final third, while 72% of his passes are forward in nature. Beyond simple passing, Bradley has just one goal and one assist, though his 14 successful dribbles are sixth on the squad

Defensively speaking, Bradley's 1.9 tackles per game are 8^th on the squad, 2^nd among midfielders, behind only Panagiotis Tachtsidis' 2.3. In terms of interceptions and clearances, he ranks 4th among midfielders, behind Daniele De Rossi, Alessandro Florenzi and Tachtsidis in varying order, though he has played significantly more minutes than DDR and Copy and Paste, so one should reasonably expect his per game numbers to suffer slightly, given his larger sample size.

But this debate isn't purely about statistics, it's more about his performance and placement within the broader tactical framework. Since this is the positive portion of the compliment sandwich, let's take a look at a heat map from the 4-2 over Fiorentina, one of his finer performances of the season.

(Bradley v Fiorentina, below)

As you can see, in this particular match, the bulk of Bradley's time was spent on the right hand side of the pitch (17.8%), between midfield and the 18 yard box. Interestingly enough, Bradley's passing this match wasn't that great (78%), as his accuracy failed him as he approached the 18 yard box (more on that next). But you can see just how much ground he covers box-to-box and even laterally across the pitch; it's pretty impressive, Bradley will never lack in stamina or effort.

The Palermo victory was another strong performance for Bradley. In this particular match, Bradley played a bit of a deeper role, as 25% of his action occurred in and around the half way line, again largely on the right side. In this match he completed 83% of his passes, though 1/3 of his incomplete passes occurred in the final third...noticing a theme?

(Bradley v Palermo, below)

So what these numbers and graphics tell us is pretty much what we expected going in, he does several things very well, but no single thing fantastically. Taking it a step further, what he does well, he does best from box-to-box, when he falters, it's often in the latter third-which is really the crux of the debate, particularly in the wake of Sunday's Inter match, what is Bradley's proper role: attacking, holding or defending? Is the sheer amount of ground he covers an asset or an exposition of his tactical flaws?

Bringing us to our next point, the negative part of the compliment sandwich.

Where Does He Go Wrong?

While admittedly a small sample size, the numbers and graphics we just looked at show that, while his passing numbers across the board are strong, his accuracy wanes in the forward reaches of the attack. Passing numbers are obviously subject to many factors (quality of teammates runs/spacing, the amount of pressure applied by the defense, pitch conditions etc), but so are heat maps (quality of one's own teammates runs/spacing, formation, formation of opponent etc).

Point being, the stats available aren't perfect, but the general theme we see does appear to have validity, Bradley's precision, or lack thereof, falters in the latter third, which is obviously a problem when he spends an inordinate amount of time up there. But again, is that his own doing or is he being instructed to forge ahead when the opportunity presents itself?

As Chris alluded to in Sunday's post-match wrap up, Bradley's supposed failings largely rest within the decisions he makes or space he occupies within the broader tactical framework. Quite simply, when he bombs forward, DDR and Florenzi have to pinch in to fill the vacated space. Complicating matters further, due to his movement forward, he isn't able to track back quickly enough, and the suddenly two man midfield is spread thin, which allowed Inter to flush the ball right, which then shifted the midfield, allowing Inter to switch play to the opposite side, leaving acres of space for Inter to run at an isolated Ivan Piris.

In other words, his extreme forward runs opens up a ton of space in the middle of the park, causing the remaining midfielders to be overextended and enabling the opponent to switch play to the weakk side, thus exposing the fullbacks. While this is rather elementary and true of any midfielder, Bradley hasn't been efficient or effective in the final third, so there hasn't been much payoff for those runs. Bradley's proper role should be to pressure the opposing midfielders, not defenders.

Let's take a look at that match and see what he did half-to-half:

Bradley's 1st half v Inter, below

In the first half, though he had a few "hotter" areas, he seemed to have carte blanche, covering large swathes of the pitch. He also made several forward runs towards the 18, though he did complete 21 of 21 passes in the first half, but in general, he seemed to have free reign, both forward and laterally.

(Bradley's 2nd half v Inter, below)